Laundry (It All Comes Out in the Wash)(SQ Fic)
by juicecupswanqueen
Summary: One-shot about Swan Queen revealing their feelings for each other after an unusual magical mishap.


"This!" Regina stood with her arms wide open indicating the entire area around her. "He gets this from you!"

Emma Swan rolled her eyes while leaning against the door jamb of their son's messy bedroom with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, I still don't get why Henry only gets all his _imperfect_ traits from me."

"Besides the occasional shoe left everywhere _my_ son was never this messy until you came into the picture."

"He's 15! I dare you to find a _neat_ teenage boy in Storybrooke, Regina. Jesus!"

The brunette mother did not acknowledge Emma's challenge though, for she was already bending at the waist and showing off her curvaceous assets. Emma noticed the uncomfortable spike in her own body temperature as she witnessed Regina tidying up.

"This Room is completely filthy." At the rustling crunch of a plastic bag underfoot, Regina further complained. "There's an empty Doritos bag here!"

"Spicy Nacho or Cool Ranch flavor?"

Brown eyes pointed a hard stare at her before another discovery was made a moment later. "Why is this underwear so… stiff?"

Emma immediately pushed off her perch and threw her hands up in front of her in alarm. "I wouldn't investigate further into that if I were you."

"Why not?"

"You don't want to know."

With an exasperated huff and forceful wave, Regina levitated all the dirty apparel into a nearby hamper. "There you are, Emma."

"What's this?"

"You are doing Henry's laundry."

"What? You did not just call me over here to do Henry's laundry. Who do you think does it at my place?" Emma refused to do any additional housework. Since the divorce, it was just she and Henry in that huge house, which she was considering selling. Henry was rarely home which left her to keep that monstrosity of a property clean. It made her miss apartment life. It was one thing to have a large house if one had a partner to share the responsibility with. Otherwise, give her a small space and take away her backyard. She didn't need it just for herself. Frankly, Emma didn't know how Regina did it all on her own.

"It's because you do his laundry that he expects _me_ to do it!" Regina magically sent the basket sliding over to Emma, who in protest magically sent it sliding back, crashing onto the tips of the Mayor's black stilettos.

"Your house. You do it."

"I am not going to argue with you. I'm talking _teamwork_ here. I'm already baking the cookies and brownies for his chess club bake sale." The basket zipped back over to Emma with more force, nearly knocking her over.

"Hey! Regina…"

"Emma." Regina's tone softened and became a little needy, throwing Emma off. "I also have some work to do before I start baking. I don't have time to do _everything_."

Emma was ready to refuse until Regina did something that the woman never had before. She asked nicely with a charming head tilt and a sexy glimmer in her eyes that almost rendered Emma speechless. "Please, Emma?" The begging was punctuated by Regina's tongue peeking out across her bottom lip before it was caught between her teeth.

How could Emma say no to an enchantingly pleading Regina Mills? "Fine."

The delightfully satisfied yip from the older mother further stupefied her and with a grunt Emma bent over and collected the heaping laundry basket.

"Fabulous! Thank you, dear. The laundry machines are in the…"

"The basement! Yeah, I know." Emma was mystified at the stirring she felt in her body at the sultry look her friend had given her a moment ago. Annoyed with herself, she shot over her shoulder and stomped out of the room nonsensically, "I KNOW!" Even though it was a brief glance, she was sure that Regina wore a smug look.

Down in the laundry area, Emma had loaded the washer. Not wanting to touch Henry's _sticky_ underwear, she had gripped it with two other articles of clothing. She had a sneaky suspicion of how Henry had gotten them in that condition and was completely grossed out.

After adding the adequate amount of detergent, according to the box, she started the machine and went back upstairs to occupy herself.

Knowing that Regina was in her study working, Emma busied herself by brewing coffee and doing the few dishes that were in the sink.

"Mmmm…" came the fulfilled murmur from the door. "It appears you can make yourself useful, Sheriff Swan." Regina grabbed a cup from the cabinet and the coffee pot. While pouring herself a cup, both women shared a smile.

Holding her own in front of her, Emma leaned against the counter. "You know, you give me a lot of guff, but you don't really find me as bothersome as you let on." Her reward from Regin was a knowing smile and a flirtatious glance over the rim.

 _Hot damn!_ Whatever Regina was playing at, it was distracting and affecting Emma greatly and in a whole new way. Hope seemed to spring forth and boldness flowed through her.

"I suppose not." Regina teased her with come-hither glances, though her words were innocent. "You do make an excellent cup of coffee."

Emma waited for more but when none came she studied the other woman, who took a sip of coffee, though those eyes never left Emma's face.

 _Why is she flirting with me?_

"Regina…" mouth gaping wide open and speechless, Emma paused. The mayor, who had played a constant role in Emma's fantasies since she first drove into Storybrooke, paid her all of her attention now.

Stepping closer, Regina put her coffee down beside Emma's hand on the counter. It was done with a coy shake of the head and the brunette leaned in even closer. "Yeeees?"

The spread of deep red lips snagged Emma's focus and her own mouth dried at the feel of Regina's fingers that had wandered from the mug to drape across Emma's hand.

"I…" Emma blinked and her forehead crinkled, not understanding where the sudden urge to taste Regina came from. "I'm confused."

A kind of sigh was released from Regina along with a sympathetic grin. "This is where I would normally say, 'Well what else is new, Ms. Swan', but I can't say I blame you really."

More surprised than ever, Emma chuckled and stuttered, "Y-you can't? I-I mean, you don't?" Emma aimed a baffled look at Regina's hand, soft and tender, still laying over her own. "Why don't you?"

Nervously, the brunette chewed on her lip and all at once seemed self-irritated. "Well, how are you supposed to know what I'm thinking if I don't tell you, right?"

"Waaait…" A wary side-glance was delivered before questioning squinty eyes. "Are you… admitting to a possible flaw _and_ refraining from being sarcastic?" Emma peered around her, trying to spot a hidden camera of some kind. Was she being _punk'd?_ Was Henry going to pop out at any minute with his iPhone capturing this on video?

 _The kid better not. Or I will magically unclean his boxers and make him sleep with it wrapped around his head for a week._

Taking a deep breath, Emma said slowly, "Regina… you're kind of scaring me."

"I don't mean to. Believe me, _scaring_ you is the very last thing I want to do. Emma, I should have been honest with you long ago. I realize I could have saved us both a hassle and you, well, from an unfortunate marriage…"

"Please, let's not go there, to regrets. Once I freed myself from all _that,_ I swore that things were going to be better. No more settling."

"Yes, well. That's what I…"

"I mean looking back on all of that now, it wasn't exactly my proudest moment."

"I beg to differ. You confronted and conquered so much."

"Except, I let my insecurity get the best of me. And in doing so, I hurt two lives trying to make everything so perfect. The fairytale princess," Emma scoffed, pointing to herself, "The _Happy_ Ending that was really only good on paper."

"Okay, stop. You're being too hard on yourself."

"There you go again, Regina, being _my_ own personal savior. Defending me from myself." Emma cracked a small smile and, oddly, Regina's eyes gentled and appeared a little glassy. There was a sentimentality there that reached out to Emma and made her feel secure.

"I will always be here for you, Emma," and then more quietly, "We save each other."

"You, Henry and my parents are really all I need." That comment seemed to please Regina immensely and Emma couldn't help feeling awed by the intensity of the moment. She and Regina had really come along way from barbed insults and poisoned apples. "You once said you didn't need a man to have a happy ending. You were right. I don't either. Romance is overrated, right?"

Dark eyebrows sunk with ambivalence and a touch of uncertainty danced across Regina's face. "Well… there's always a little time for romance."

At first, Emma was gobsmacked and then she narrowed her eyes in concern. "Are you feeling okay? You're acting a little weird."

Regina blew out an exasperated huff and, with three fingers, rubbed the crinkle between her eyebrows. "Yes, Yes. I know. I hadn't planned on doing this today."

"Doing what?"

"Confessing something important." Regina walked the short distance to the opposite counter and then returned back and confided, "And it's making me nervous."

"Just let it out, Regina. You can tell me anything."

"I'm trying!"

"Okay. Sorry. Don't get bent out of shape."

Silence. Emma watched as Regina closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself and when she glanced up, Emma found complete resolve in those eyes. Resolve and something else, not quite identifiable, but it made Regina more beautiful, more vulnerable, more tenderly exquisite than Emma had ever seen her.

If she weren't so bewitched by the moment. Emma would have gasped as Regina possessed both her hands gently and held them preciously. "Emma, I…"

A faint clunking sound was heard..

"What was that?" Holding fastly onto Emma, not wanting to let go, Regina turned her head slightly.

"I don't know." Emma perused around them and found nothing out of the ordinary. A louder whirling sounded and prompted Emma to withdraw her hands and slowly stroll around the kitchen to investigate.

A boom sounded, just beneath them, causing them to jump, and the continuous clunking was finally figured out by Regina, since down below were the washing machine and dryer. "Emma. How much detergent did you put in the machine?"

"Relax, Regina. I put in exactly what the box told me to."

"Oh no!"

Regina dashed past Emma to get to the basement stairs. Emma followed rapidly on her heels. "What? What's wrong?"

When Regina flung the door open they immediately saw what was causing the loud noises and Emma could hardly believe the sight before her.

Frothy bubbles hit their ankles first and the washing machine across the room was burping up clumps of suds from the top!

"What the hell?" The washing machine lid blew open, spewing out more foam and first one, then two wet articles of clothing were spat across the room. "I swear I don't know how this happened."

"I do." Regina bravely, yet carefully stepped forward and waded through the suds that were now waist-high. "Magic." Regina turned and glared at Emma. "Didn't Henry tell you I _magicked_ the machine to only use a 10th of the detergent specified on the box?"

"What?" Emma mentally jumped into the task of helping Regina by trekking through their white wonderland of laundry detergent. "Why?"

"To save money!"

"You are the richest woman in town! You live in the most extravagant house and you drive a freaking Mercedes!"

"I was being frugal!" Regina nearly lost her balance and waved her arms to steady herself.

"What do you have to be frugal about?"

"I am addicted to shoes and fashion, in case you haven't noticed." Emma rolled her eyes at that. Of course she noticed. The whole town had noticed. "Saving money on laundry detergent means more online shopping!"

Emma snorted and chided after blowing a handful of soap from her palm. "Well I hope the Jimmy Choos you got last week are worth this."

"Careful. It's particularly wet over here."

"It's wet everywhere!" There were more soapy suds than water though. Emma swatted some away as the level of it had grown to waist high. "This feels weird."

Distracting them, the machine wheezed and sputtered before making a loud hiccuping sound and jumped from the wall, causing both women to yelp in surprise.

"We need to turn it off," Regina shouted and quickly moved in that direction but the closer she got to the skipping appliance the more slippery the floor was. Losing footing, Regina only had a second to shriek as she fell under the bubbles, disappearing from view.

"REGINA!" Emma waded over, her body causing suds to pile and build beside her. She began padding her hands through the soapy bubbles. "REGINA! Where did you go?"

A foamy figure rose up and Emma couldn't resist laughing at Regina, wet with soap suds clumped on her hair and clothes.

"Oh my God, look at you." Emma bent a little not able to control her laughter, pointing to the tower of soap on top of Regina's head and clumps of it around her chin like a beard. "You look like a garden gnome!"

"Oh, you think this is funny do you?"

Without any pause, Emma emphatically nodded and laughed so much that she was not prepared for Regina to grab her, trip her and force her to fall under the soapy suds too. After the blonde's astonished squawk she got up quickly and wiped suds from her jacket while blowing quickly hoping to spit some away from her mouth. They both laughed and started to whip white froth at each other.

They played in the soap for just a few minutes more and used magic to disconnect the machine and set the laundry room back to normal.

An hour later they were sitting in the study, a roaring fire in the hearth, and warm cups of peppermint tea.

"Thanks for letting me shower in your guest bathroom," Emma said over the rim of her cup.

"You're welcome."

"We showered… in the same house… at the same time…" Emma chuckled and readjusted herself on the same sofa Regina sat. She briefly glanced at the couch opposite, across the long coffee table, where she had first sat across from Regina Mills on the first night they had ever met. "If you had told me that would happen years ago, I would have said you were crazy."

That brought about a pensive blink from the woman who used to be the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest. "Emma…" Regina put her tea down and turned herself so that she could see Emma better. "About what I was saying before."

"Yes?"

"The confession." She waited for Emma to say something, nod her head, say anything, but Emma sat there a calm expression and a supportive grin. "The truth is that I have had many chances to tell you, in this very room, how much you mean to me. Your support. Your friendship. You believed in me when no one else did. You encouraged me to accept who I am but also be someone I like and could be proud of. You and Henry bring out the best in me."

"You're important to me too, Regina. You understand me, like no one else ever has."

"Emma… I think we should…"

"Hug?" Without delay, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and pulled her in snugly. They spent so much time missing their cues for hugging that Emma didn't want to waste any more ever again. She and Regina meant something to one another. They were important in each other's lives. They were friends, family, magic partners and if they would ever become more, like Emma had hoped for a long time ago, she would count her lucky stars.

Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, had been such a huge force in her life. They had been connected before either one of them had even met one another. Emma knew this. She had wanted to admit it to her parents, to Henry, to her best friend Lily, but they wouldn't understand her. The only person that would, she thought, was this woman who was stroking a hand up her back and returning her hug so sincerely.

"I think we should date."

Astonished, Emma pulled back and held Regina's shoulders at arms length and gazed into her friend's blushing face. "Whaaaat?

"What?"

Emma shook her head to clear it but Regina thought it was rejection and she turned swiftly to stare straight ahead. The brunette was about to get off the couch when Emma snagged her by the elbow, bringing her back down onto the sofa cushion.

"Wait!"

"Ow."

" What did you say?"

"I said nothing."

"No. No." Emma pointed. "You said we should date." Emma sprung up off the couch in bewildered exhilaration. "Holy shit, holy shit!" She turned and found Regina sitting there staring at the carpet. "That was your confession? You want to date me?"

"This is not going the way I had planned."

Regina was so focused on her own worry that she didn't see the dimpling smile Emma sported. "Are you kidding? This is… fantastic."

That gained Regina's attention and she suspiciously eyed the blonde about to dance a jig. "You really think so?"

Emma stopped and after realizing Regina was feeling dubious, she sank down and grabbed Regina's hands. "Regina, I want to date you too."

"You do?" Was there anything cuter than Regina frowning? Emma thought not.

"Yes. And just so we are on the same page, I'm talking holding hands, movie nights, dinners, cuddling on the couch, other things that I want to mention but don't want to rush you into right now. I mean, I know this is a first for us _and_ it's maybe feeling a little weird, _and_ maybe a little scary but it's also totally exciting and something that I want to do with you."

"You do?"

"Yes!" Emma drew closer, hoping to receive the kind of kiss she only fantasized about sharing with Regina; often in the privacy of her own room at night. What she got instead surprised her. "Ouch! What did you pinch me for!"

"Do you know how long I have been waiting to tell you? It was agony thinking about admitting my feelings and having you reject me for not feeling the same way. Why didn't you tell me how you felt, Emma?"

"Wha… I… You… You didn't tell me how _you_ felt until just now!"

"Imagine how all of this could have been averted had you just been honest with me."

"Hah, Regina. You mean how if we had been honest with each other! Though, it was worth it to see you fall on your ass downstairs."

The corner of Regina's lip turned up and her eyes tilted upward before she shook her head. "So tell me. What are these _other_ things you plan for us to do on these dates?"

Emma blushed. "Oh… well…"

"Because I'll be honest now, Sheriff Swan, and tell you that I may not mind rushing into a few of them."

"Really now?" Emma came even closer now, the pinch forgotten. "Because I was thinking about more hugging, less pinching, and maybe a _kiss_ or two."

"Hmmmm, are you a good kisser, Sheriff?"

"I haven't gotten any complaints so far."

"I think I'll be the judge of that."

"Ok."

The distance between them closed and they smiled widely just before their lips met for the first time. The caress was delicate at first, both women knowing this was a brand new start for them. However, when their lips moved more firmly against one another and then a little more urgently, a moan elicited gutterly from Regina's throat, which generated a nasal gasp from Emma, who angled her head and parted her lips, taking it to the next level: their first open-mouthed kiss.

Pulling back and clearing her throat Regina shook her curls, trying to alleviate the warmth in her cheeks and the stirring in her body. Emma thought she might spontaneously combust after a kiss like that.

"Wow." Regina tugged at the front of her blouse, fanning herself while Emma glanced around the room in complete awe of how amazing their moment was. "That was unexpected, but entirely… completely…"

"Amazing! That was absolutely amazing!" Emma imagined she wore an expression similar to a child who just got the present that they had been wishing for on Christmas morning. Glancing at Regina, she witnessed the most endearing smile grace the woman's pillow-soft lips.

"Yes. Yes, it was."

The air between them seemed electrically charged and a bolt of excitement zipped through Emma at the prospect of the new journey that they had just embarked on. For the time being, the moment was theirs and theirs alone. It was inexplicable but, right now, Emma just wanted to stretch this moment out for as long as possible, not sharing it with anyone else yet.

"Regina, what do you say we get out of here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you, me, in my car. Let's take that scroll and leave town for a little bit. Just a few hours, where you're you and I'm me."

With a grin, Regina kidded, "Aren't we us here in Storybrooke?"

"No, I mean not the mayor, not the sheriff, not Henry's moms..." She paused and questioned, "Did that sound bad? I love the kid. I just want some time where we're just two women who nobody knows. I want to be with you and not share you with anyone."

An affectionate twinkle in Regina's eyes elated Emma and she knew that the brunette was liking the idea, but to solidify it more, she promised taking both of Regina's hands into hers. "I promise I will have us back after dinner. Henry can eat at my parents' tonight."

Nervously, Regina fidgeted in her seat. "Well… what would we do?"

"Anything we want! Nothing that we aren't ready for. I swear. We can go to Beresford National Park and sit by the lake. Or we could go get ice cream…"

"Leave Storybrooke to get ice cream." Regina snickered. "You and your stomach, Emma."

"We could just drive around, holding hands!" In a last ditch effort, Emma offered. "We can even take _your_ car and not my _Yellow Death Trap_." Emma watched as Regina threw her head back in silent laughter and she again was reminded about how positively breath-taking the woman was, especially when smiling.

"No. It wouldn't be the same. We'll take the bug."

"So you'll come with me?"

The knuckle stroke against her cheek left a path of warmth, branding every part of Emma as Regina's. As they drifted closer and those ensnaring brown eyes dropped to Emma's lips in eagerness to taste them again, she replied, "Only if you kiss me again, Sheriff Swan. You are actually a _really_ good kisser."

"Hell yeah, I am."

Emma's heart soared. When someone as thrilling and wonderful as Regina Mills paid you a compliment about your kisses and demanded another one, you gave the woman what she wanted.

* * *

 **Tumblr Prompt:** Could you write a small fic where Regina asks Emma to do laundry but Emma just messes up and somehow manages to fill the whole house with suds. Major fluff?


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